Rollover leaves passenger trapped in car in San Clemente

SAN CLEMENTE – The Sheriff’s Department is trying to locate the driver of a car that authorities said went down an embankment and landed upside down before dawn Monday.

Lt. Dave Moodie, chief of police services in San Clemente, said a silver Mazda coupe with Florida license plates went off an embankment at 126 Avenida del Reposo, struck a second-floor rear wall at 149 Avenida Florencia and landed upside down at 147 Avenida Florencia with a passenger trapped inside.

The driver reportedly told residents not to call the police and said he would pay for the damage. “Then he fled on foot, leaving his buddy behind,” Moodie said.

Orange County Fire Authority personnel used cutters to free the passenger, who had minor injuries, Moodie said, but deputies were unable to learn the identity of the driver from the passenger, who was listed as age 17, from Florida.

A sheriff’s helicopter searched the area but was unable to locate the driver, described as a white male in his 30s with shoulder-length blond hair, a black T-shirt and tan pants.

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